LAZY LASCAZERES

After something like about 29 days on the road around France we are safely back in Lascazeres. An uneventful day on the way back, some interesting scenery that 'Helene' found unintentionally for us. We must say here that we simply couldn't have done what we have, without Tim's Garmin. We have ventured into the huge cities, highways and byways of France and she has never let us down. Yesterday however, whilst she didn't let us down, we found ourselves in a tiny village, the only route out in the direction we were headed was "barre", so we had to rely on 'Helene' to find our way out, which she did but hours along a very narrow, windy but beautiful road down the Tarn Valley. We realised just how vulnerable we are as we simply wouldn't have been able to explain where we wanted to go in French. We were very glad to be travelling in our air-conditioned car, as it rose upwards of 33 degrees!

The last Roman ruin for this trip!

Happy to get here in the late afternoon and catch up with Al, Cheryl, Bob and Eugenie, and have a swim in the newly lined pool. Such a relief too, to have dinner prepared and not have to try to work out what's on the menu! We have spent today at a very large local market (what else) and just generally catching up. Other party guests are starting to arrive in Lascazeres, so I guess we will get busier and busier, not sure how much we will blog in the next few days.

Harvest time for their winter crops

Almost there!

MIGHTY MILLAU

But first a farewell to Lyon, a city almost too large for us. We got the hang of it in the end but have decided we’re small to middle sized places to visit people. We stayed in a nice apartment in the ‘Bohemium’ part of town, read slightly sleazy for that! But very handy to all other parts of Lyon.

We spent the morning window shopping, and the evening in the old part of town visiting the city Cathedral before having a lovely meal and a refreshing ice cream on the way home! It's got hot, hot, hot here.

Well, what can I say! Anne has wanted to see the Millau Viaduct ever since she saw a "making of" programme years ago. We made it today, it’s soaring seven towers visible from over 30k’s away as we anxiously approached.

An extract from Wikipedia follows;

The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France.

Designed by the French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux and British architect Norman Foster, it is the tallest bridge in the world with one mast's summit at 343.0 metres (1,125 ft) above the base of the structure. The viaduct is part of the A75-A71 autoroute axis from Paris to Montpellier. Construction cost was approximately €400 million and it was formally dedicated on 14 December 2004.

A stop at the viewing area and the awe was obvious. Anne had organized a night nearby with views. It turns out to be a converted Chateau – beautiful and a special treat towards the end of our epic tour. Especially as it's air-conditioned - it's 34 outside today.

Anne's viaduct!

Millau town and the valley the bridge needed to traverse.

Our Chateau de Creissels

The viaduct from our front lawn.

The drawing room

We just returned from a pre-evening stroll through Creissels,

a pair of Swans enjoying the peace of the town pond.

A LITTLE RESISTANCE

We're having a quietish day, some time this morning in the shopping district off the 'Place Bellecour' where there's a magnificent statue to Louis the XIV and some thoughts about the French Resistance after seeing references to it throughout the city.

A mounted Louis XIV with Notre Dame in 

background - a long walk up, but worth it

St Pierre - shades of Chartres with its different spires

I noticed reference to the museum of the 'Centre d'histoire de la résistance et de la déportation' when we arrived. It wasn't high in my priorities, but while here there have been other visual commemorations. A street near where we had coffee one morning had the following plaque

 My french is not great but basically I think it commemorates

the life of a resistance member, Antoine Fonlupt, who was assassinated

in 1944 at 24 years of age.

And over the road from our hotel there is a restaurant named after 'The White Rabbit" 

Lapin Blanc!

We have not made the museum but it is located on the former site of a French military health school (École de Santé Militaire) and opened in 1992, it chronicles the French Resistance. The school was occupied by the Germans in the spring of

1943, and used by Lyon's Gestapo chief, Klaus Barbie, to torture resistance members.

Whilst we have made an emotive pilgrimage to Gallipoli and The Somme to remember relatives and Australian heroes on this trip, we often forget the extraordinary efforts of others and our own Nancy Wake, the 'White Mouse'.

A footnote too as we unwind, a true test of your explorations is the condition of the tourism maps - freyed on the folds and almost in pieces at the end of your visit!!

LOVING LYON

Yesterday was a shortish trip from Dijon to Lyon. We drove through the Rhone and Saone valleys, another picturesque scene of vineyards and rural villages with the re-emergence of substantial Chateaux along the way.

These glazed tile roofs are a feature in this area

 Just 'crusing' ..

Makes a grown man cry!

We stopped in Beaune, pronounced 'bon', the wine capital of Burgundy.There were wines in the window we have only dreamt of drinking. Nuits St George etc etc.

The market place, but not today!

Lyon is the second largest city and is considered the food capital of France. There are more three hatted restaurants in this area than anywhere else! So it was compulsory that we visited the restorated 'Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse', perhaps France's most famous chef who hails from these parts. Very upmarket, the range and quality of the food was amazing.

Knocking on Heavens door!

Tuesday was a quiet day

Pol who? Good company eh?

It was nearly lunchtime so we indulged ourselves a little, a dozen oysters - six each of two types washed down by some Tattinger Champagne. Bliss, is all I can say!

Nothing better!

For you Tim, note the collar!
(MOF, Meilleur Ouvrier de France,
  is Frances highest food honour)

The Rhone and Saone rivers meet in Lyon, the city divided by the rivers with beautiful bridges and barges tied up at the docks.

Riverside

The magnificent Hotel de Ville ...

and Opera house were on the way to the markets today.

We have more to explore, the nearby bohemian area, Crois-Rousse and the old part of Lyon, St-Jean and St-Paul are saved for tomorrow.

DIJON DONE

We have been so surprised and overwhelmed by Dijon. We arrived on a Friday afternoon, pouring rain, roadworks, and traffic hassles everywhere we looked. We had time, others didn't! The first full day though, and since, has been lovely sunny weather, brightening up our and the city's spirits no end.


We blogged yesterday on the food situation here, today we've consolidated the cities architecture and historic side. The city is largely in its original state having escaped the legacy of both world wars.


Lots of photos to share, hope you can appreciate what we have seen while we have been here.

Port Guillaume welcomed us.

There's an Owl under Anne's hand that brings the "rubber"

good luck. He is also the theme to an original way of guiding people around the

city with brass copies and arrows on the pavement.

Notre-Dame, a 13th century masterpiece of Burgundian architecture.

The remarkable facade is composed of false gargoyles and the 

"Jacquemart" or clock, a war spoil of Philip the Bold.

The Jacquemart (man) was given to the city in 1383, in 1651 he 

was given a wife, Jacqueline, and in 1714 and 1884 they were given 

children - quite PC really! 

The cities piece de resistance, the ducal palace.

It was started by Philip the Bold in 1366 and enlarged

by future Dukes, including Philip the Good!

 Hotel Aubriot, a 13th century house that

was used to store the cities monetary reserves.

The roof is made or glazed tiles, featured on 

several other buildings nearby.

A statue of a winegrower with stained legs

after a day treading grapes. He became known

as "bas roses" or red stockings!

On a more personal theme ...

We both had admirers!

Finally, I couldn't resist a picture of this little character

looking for a home in the markets today.

DELICIOUS DIJON

This morning, after a great night's sleep and the promise of a very fine day, we rose early (for us) and walked to Les Halles - a beautiful, ornate, metal and glass marketplace built by Gustave Eiffel in about 1832.


Both loving food and cooking, we spent ages browsing and dreaming of what we could produce if we had such fantastic ingredients so easily available in Singleton!

Inside the market

Bresse Chickens, reputedly the very best in the world, identified by their blue feet.

Horse butcher - why is it yukkier than eating beef? Look carefully at the top left-hand side, and you'll see the horse.

A very small selection of the terrines, all fabulous in presentation.

These mushrooms, girolles, are in season now and feature on many menus.

There is also an enormous variety of fruit and vegetables, cheese especially from here, but also from other parts of France. We wonder why we won't allow cheese to be imported into Australia unless it's made from pasteurised milk - pasteurising removes a lot of the flavour. So many really great cheeses are made from unpasteurised milk.

Really, I couldn't name all the food related products for sale. Even jambon Iberico was available for a snip at 100 euros a kilo!

Slightly off-putting is the French way of displaying any poultry still with it's head and feet on, often split to show the offal is intact. The French love their food and are very serious about how it should be displayed. They also eat every bit of any annimal, careful when ordering you're not getting, as one waitress mimed to me, "the man bits"!


Bon appetite!

DAMBACH TO DIJON

We had hoped to leave some dull and damp weather behind but alas it followed us down the Rhine valley. We said good bye to Dambach and paid our last respects to the vineyards and villages that lined the valley walls as we headed south.

Sunset last night in Dambach, hopes of better weather tomorrow

Au revoir Dambach

A longish but lovely drive later we navigated or way through the suburbs of Dijon to our hotel in the middle of town. We have been so lucky with our hotel situations, not without a lot of planning on Anne's behalf. A brief walk around town, the obligatory visit to the Cathedral, and a quick check out of potential dining spots. 

An oldie, built in 1220 and still going strong!

Mustard anyone?

A big choice of Maille mustards

AU REVOIR ALSACE

We planned a long relaxing stay in these parts, and so it has been. We’ve travelled the length and breadth pretty much including two sorties into Germany. Today started a little damp but improved as we drove south. Through Colmar and Guebwiller and many other …willers, but no Rottweilers!! Pretty country latticed with vineyards and amazing little single church towns, two, three or four “Fleurie” villages just within earshot of each other.

Guebwiller

Lunch in Germany and another two crossings of the Rhine including one that was also a part of a gigantic lock. We stopped and marvelled at the engineering that allows the large barges to rise and fall with such apparent ease.

Going down ...

... and down and out!

Off south tomorrow, to Dijon for a taste of something different!